Win for life
by Yuhi-san
Summary: She was looking for a good time at a club. He was dumped by his friends. Better and worse pick-up lines lead to a deal involving a lighter, a number and a breezer. It's going to be a night no one of them ever forgets again.


**Authors Note:** York goes still by his old name here, obviously. I choose Sean. You know, like his voice actor.

* * *

**Win for life**

Carolina wasn't exactly a major party girl. She also hadn't dozen of friends or was very popular. It was okay though. You didn't have much time for this in the military anyway. And she preferred to have a few good friends over many people when pretended to like her without really knowing her.

That she choose military life from the beginning didn't mean, however, she was only living to serve. She wasn't the type of women to seek one adventure with men after the next, either.

Yet, sometimes Carolina liked to go out. All alone, hitting the clubs and just being another girl at the bar.

Today was one of these nights. The bright neon lights bathed the streets in many colors, vivid and bright, yet empty and boring to her. Carolina kept walking through the streets, listening to the steady clicking of her heels. She knows people are staring after her but she does not care. Around the next corner, they forget she had been there as much as she forgets them.

She comes to a huge place with neon lights even brighter than before. The logo of the trendiest club on the either planet is almost tackily huge on the ground. Carolina never was here before and she won't come again; she never goes to the same club twice.

Walking straight towards the entrance, Carolina passes some parked vehicles. Not that she cared much about these but one just kind of caught her eyes. It was extremely modern, high-tech and high-speed breezer. It seems black at the first look but when the light hits it in the right angle there is a deep purple shimmer in it. Carolina smirks and keeps walking. Nice car. But usually the guys with nice cares are either assholes, babbits or both.

Carolina enters the club. The light is blinding and the music deafening. The air is hot and the place crowded. At least the music is actually good. Letting the beat of the music relax and take over her, she makes her way to the bar, looking for a drink and some company. Carolina orders a drink and as she waits she glances at the small group next to her at the bar, one of them doing tricks as he flipped a lighter between his fingers and the other watching and joking.

Carolina leaves with the drink. She drinks, dances, has company the whole night. Each time she gets herself something, however, there is this guy with the lighter. He had company first from three guys but later on he is alone. Feeling like she is going to die from a head stroke soon, Carolina sits on the chair next to him, ordering a margarita.

The guys brown hair are gelled meticulously and he had a soda in front of him, one arm on the table and his chin on said arm. He looks like he is about to fall asleep if he wouldn't keep doing the thing with the lighter. Flick it on, let it go off, flick it on, let it go off. Must have been very interesting because he doesn't notice Carolina, apparently.

Sean was bored out of his mind. He came here with some friends to have fun but he should have known they would go dump him. As every time when he was stuck with drinking Soda because he was the driver for the night. It sucked. So he just lay half on the bar, flicking the lighter on and off. He had one with the Errera logo; after all he was a regular in here. He was still not allowed to smoke inside.

Sure, he could go and hit on some ladies, taking them home or in the car or stuff. But you know, there was still the nasty after glow from his ex-girlfriend. So he just sits there, lazily flicking the lighter on, letting it go off, flick the lighter on, let it go off again, flick the… Okay, where the fuck was his lighter?

So he's not drunken enough but probably tired enough to justify his confusion about the sudden disappearance of his lighter. Sean glances up and over as he hears a chuckle from the seat next to him. There is a woman, with the reddest hair he'd ever seen, holding his lighter. He probably should be wondering how a chick could steal his lighter so easily considering he was a pretty good military mostly doing infiltration. But he hangs with staring at her because she is really hot. Not the most appropriate thought but hey, at least he's honest.

He raises his head and eye ridge at the same time. "Normally I'd be kinda nasty when people steal my lighter. But for you I might make an exception", he says then to the women and okay, yeah, it's not the best pick up line he ever brought. Not the worst either. The woman however smiles and Sean finds his eyes glued to her lips.

Yes, he is so fucking simple.

"Not nasty, huh?" the woman says, slightly amused before she takes a sip from her drink. Kind of daring, huh? "Well… it depends." Sean holds out his hand towards her. "Give me back my lighter and maybe something else? Like you're phone number?" Even if he would never say I aloud, he knew he was a lousy flirter. Alcohol usually helped but here he only had the music, loud enough to drown out most other things but here at the bar at least faint enough to hear what the person next to you said. The redhead laughs and Sean is again checking her out. Definitely the good looking kind.

But it's not like Sean has time to make more specific thoughts about her look before the woman snorts "That's the best you got?" she asks amused.

"Well yeah, I got better. But that's not what you suspect from the average guy at the bar, right? I'm Sean, by the way." He puts his head in one hand as he gives her a grin. She returns it before she takes a sip from her drink. It looks as if she is thinking about whether or not to tell her name. "Carolina." she says in the end.

"Like the state?"

"Like the state."

Sean had no idea how long he had been sitting there with Carolina, just talking and laughing, joking and teasing. None of his buddies showed up again and hell, it wasn't like he cared about it. The night turned out better than he thought but it was slowly getting to an end. And Carolina still had his lighter.

"So, you gonna give me my lighter back before you go home?" he asks at some point of the conversation. Again Carolina gives him one of the teasing yet adorable smiles she has. "What are you going to do if I don't?"

He thinks about it. "I come over every time I have to light up my cigarette?" Carolina chuckles again. "Bad one. How about getting another lighter?"

"Hey, that one is a prize, so to say."

"How about quit smoking?"

"Well, but then my fingers get all itchy and I need another stress relive. Would you help me out with that, then?" In all the honesty, Sean knows how damn stupid this was the moment he said the words aloud. That Carolina only frowns at him and doesn't smiles is just the confirmation. "Now that was really low."

"Uh… yeah... I know. Sorry", Sean returns a little sheepish. He didn't meant mess things up with her. An awkward and uncomfortable silence sets in. The both still sit there. Carolina drinks soda now, too. After what seems like too many long minutes the redhead suddenly leans towards him. "Well, I have a deal for you." So, just to mention this once: if you want a guy to listen to what you say you shouldn't lean forward and give such a nice view on your cleavage. Sean feels his cheeks getting warmer while he desperately tries to look in Carolinas brilliant green eyes. He swallows hard.

"You saw the breezer outside? The black one?" she asks in a death serious voice. She isn't drunken but maybe tipsy.

"The one that seems purple in the light?"

"That one." There is something like delight in her voice. "If you would happen to be the one with that car and bring me home with it, I'll give you back the lighter and my number." She wants to tease him, he can tell by her grin. But she doesn't know who she is playing with. Sean mirrors her grin. "Want me to bring you home now?" he asks, provocatively.

Carolinas grin grows a little. "Let me just go to the bathroom first."

Sean had been more than pleased with himself as he saw Carolinas face when she came out of the club and saw him waiting. In just the car she wanted to be driven home with. He actually intended to get out of the car and open her the door but Carolina, clearly delighted, literally hopped in on the passenger seat. Well, that much for the gentlemen thing.

They don't drive home right away but instead get a tour through the city, so to speak. Sean tests what the care has to give. He isn't sure if it's just Carolinas nature or if it's the alcohol. But she seems to like fast and daring driving. When Sean finally stops near a park Carolina runs her hands through her hair, a feeble attempt to get it back to normal. Sean grins at her and slightly leans over. "So... you wanted me to drive you home. But you got to be more accurate than near the park, you know. "

Carolina gives him a very ominous smile. "It's fine here. I won't tell you just yet where I live", she says and leaned back then, her eyes till fixed on him. "Now, do you still want my number? If so I think you should get your phone out. I don't have a lipstick with me to write it on your forehead."

He rolls his eyes but at the same time snorts a laughter before he gets his phone and lets her give him the number. He is barely done with saving it when Carolina is already out of the car. "Hey, wait up! You can't leave like this. What about the lighter? And maybe a kiss?" he complains. Again Carolina smirks as she returns to the car. She braces her lower arms on the door and leans forward. "Well, I said you get my number and the lighter if you are the one with the breezer and drive me home. You drove me home but you are not the owner of the car."

Sean stares at her blindfolded. Because very distracting sight on her décolleté and, wait, what? The redhead points next to the steering wheeled. "No key. You shot-wired that thing. Pretty impressive. But still not your car." She straightens up again and shows the lighter to him with a teasing smile. "So I will keep the lighter", she informs him and lets the little piece disappear in her cleavage. He watches very closely. As she turns around and wants to walk off, Sean just has to say something. "Hey, wait! You are going to dump me like that?" he asks, somehow disappointed and incredulous at the same time. Carolina turns around, still smiling. "For today I will. But you know, Ererra has really good drinks. I guess it's worth going there again."

There is only another smile and a wink before she leaves. Sean lets her go and just stays there for a few minutes. You know, thinking about the night, about Carolina and her words, her smile. As shitty as the night started, it had been totally worth it to let Mark drag him out in the club. And he would definitely keep going there. But therefore he needed to bring back the breezer and hope the club owner hasn't noticed yet that it was missing.


End file.
